THE

BOOK OF ESTHER.

The Book of Esther

Chapter 1

1 In the days of Assuerus, who reigned
from India to Ethiopia over a
hundred and twenty-seven provinces:

2 When he sat on the throne of his
kingdom, the city Susan was the capital of
his kingdom.

3 Now in the third year of his reign he
made a great feast for all the princes, and
for his servants, for the most mighty of
the Persians, and the nobles of the Medes,
and the governors of the provinces in his
sight,

4 That he might shew the riches of the
glory of his kingdom, and the greatness,
and boasting of his power, for a long
time, to wit, for a hundred and fourscore
days.

5 And when the days of the feast were
expired, he invited all the people that
were found in Susan, from the greatest
to the least: and commanded a feast to
be made seven days in the court of the
garden, and of the wood, which was
planted by the care and the hand of the
king.

6 And there were hung up on every side
sky coloured, and green, and violet
hangings, fastened with cords of silk, and of
purple, which were put into rings of
ivory, and were held up with marble
pillars. The beds also were of gold and
silver, placed in order upon a floor paved
with porphyry and white marble: which
was embellished with painting of
wonderful variety.

7 And they that were invited, drank in
golden cups, and the meats were brought
in divers vessels one after another. Wine
also in abundance and of the best was
presented, as was worthy of a king's
magnificence.

8 Neither was there any one to compel
them to drink that were not willing, but
as the king had appointed, who set over
every table one of his nobles, that every
man might take what he would.

9 Also Vasthi the queen made a feast
for the women in the palace, where king
Assuerus was used to dwell.

10 Now on the seventh day, when the
king was merry, and after very much
drinking was well warmed with wine, he
commanded Mauman, and Bazatha, and
Harbona, and Bagatha, and Abgatha, and
Zethar, and Charcas, the seven eunuchs
that served in his presence,

11 To bring in queen Vasthi before the
king, with the crown set upon her head,
to shew her beauty to all the people and
the princes: for she was exceeding beautiful.

12 But she refused, and would not come
at the king's commandment, which he
had signified to her by the eunuchs.
Whereupon the king, being angry, and
inflamed with a very great fury,

13 Baked the wise men, who according
to the custom of the kings, were always
near his person, and all he did was by
their counsel, who knew the laws, and
judgments of their forefathers:

14 (Now the chief and nearest him were,
Charsena, and Sethar, and Admatha, and
Tharsis, and Mares, and Marsana, and
Mamuchan, seven princes of the Persians,
and of the Medes, who saw the face of
the king, and were used to sit first after
him :)

15 What sentence ought to pass upon
Vasthi the queen, who had refused to
obey the commandment of king Assuerus,
which he had sent to her by the eunuchs?

16 And Mamuchan answered, in the
hearing of the king and the princes:
Queen Vasthi hath not only injured the
king, but also all the people and princes
that are in all the provinces of king
Assuerus.

17 For this deed of the queen will go
abroad to all women, so that they will
despise their husbands, and will say:
King Assuerus commanded that queen
Vasthi should come in to him, and she
would not.

18 And by this example all the wives of
the princes of the Persians and the Medes
will slight the commandments of their
husbands: wherefore the king's indignation
is just.

19 If it please thee, let an edict go out
from thy presence, and let it be written
according to the law of the Persians and
of the Medes, which must not be altered,
that Vasthi come in no more to the king,
but another, that is better than her, be
made queen in her place.

20 And let this be published through all
the provinces of thy empire, (which is
very wide,) and let all wives, as well of the
greater as of the lesser, give honour to
their husbands.

21 His counsel pleased the king, and the
princes: and the king did according to
the counsel of Mamuchan.

22 And he sent letters to all the
provinces of his kingdom, as every nation
could hear and read, in divers languages
and characters, that the husbands should
be rulers and masters in their houses:
and that this should be published to every
people.

Chapter 2

1 After this, when the wrath of king
Assuerus was appeased, he remembered
Vasthi, and what she had done end
what she had suffered:

2 And the king's servants and his
officers said: Let young women be sought
for the king, virgins and beautiful,

3 And let some persons be sent through
all the provinces to look for beautiful
maidens and virgins: and let them bring
them to the city of Susan, and put them
into the house of the women under the
hand of Egeus the eunuch, who is the
overseer and keeper of the king's women:
and let them receive women's ornaments,
and other things necessary for their use.

4 And whosoever among them all shall
please the king's eyes, let her be queen
instead of Vasthi. The word pleased the
king: and he commanded it should be
done as they had suggested.

5 There was a man in the city of Susan,
a Jew, named Mardochai, the son of
Jair, the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of
the race of Jemini,

6 Who had been carried away from
Jerusalem at the time that Nabuchodonosor
king of Babylon carried away Jechonias
king of Juda,

7 And he had brought up his brother's
daughter Edissa, who by another name
was called Esther: now she had lost both
her parents: and was exceeding fair and
beautiful. And her father and mother
being dead, Mardochai adopted her for
his daughter.

8 And when the king's ordinance was
noised abroad, and according to his
commandment many beautiful virgins were
brought to Susan, and were delivered to
Egeus the eunuch: Esther also among the
rest of the maidens was delivered to him
to be kept in the number of the women.

9 And she pleased him, and found favour
in his sight. And he commanded the
eunuch to hasten the women's ornaments,
and to deliver to her her part, and seven
of the most beautiful maidens of the
king's house, and to adorn and deck out
both her and her waiting maids.

10 And she would not tell him her
people nor her country. For Mardochai had
charged her to say nothing at all of that:

11 And he walked every day before the
court of the house, in which the chosen
virgins werre kept, having a care for
Esther's welfare, and desiring to know what
would befall her.

12 Now when every virgin's turn came
to go in to the king, after all had been
done for setting them off to advantage,
it was the twelfth month: so that for six
months they were anointed with oil of
myrrh, and for other six months they
used certain perfumes and sweet spices.

13 And when they were going in to the
king, whatsoever they asked to adorn
themselves they received: and being
decked out, as it pleased them, they
passed from the chamber of the women
to the king's chamber.

14 And she that went in at evening,
came out in the morning, and from thence
she was conducted to the second house,
that was under the hand of Susagaz the
eunuch, who had the charge over the
king's concubines: neither could she re-
turn any more to the king, unless the
king desired it, and had ordered her by
name to come.

15 And as the time came orderly about,
the day was at hand, when Esther, the
daughter of Abihail the brother of
Mardochai, whom he had adopted for his
daughter, was to go in to the king. But
she sought not women's ornaments, but
whatsoever Egeus the eunuch the keeper
of the virgins had a mind, he gave her to
adorn her. For she was exceeding fair,
and her incredible beauty made her
appear agreeable and amiable in the eyes
of all.

16 So she was brought to the chamber
of king Assuerus the tenth month, which
is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of
his reign.

17 And the king loved her more than
all the women, and she had favour and
kindness before him above all the
women, and he set the royal crown on her
head, and made her queen instead of
Vasthi.

18 And he commanded a magnificent
feast to be prepared for all the princes,
and for his servants, for the marriage and
wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to
all the provinces, and bestowed gifts
according to princely magnificence.

19 And when the virgins were sought
the second time, and gathered together,
Mardochai stayed at the king's gate,

20 Neither had Esther as yet declared
her country and people, according to his
commandment. For whatsoever he
commanded, Esther observed: and she did all
things in the same manner as she was
wont at that time when he brought her
up a little one.

21 At that time, therefore, when
Mardochai abode at the king's gate, Bagathan
and Thares, two of the king's eunuchs,
who were porters, and presided in the first
entry of the palace, were angry: and they
designed to rise up against the king, and
to kill him.

22 And Mardochai had notice of it, and
immediately he told it to queen Esther:
and she to the king in Mardochai's name,
who had reported the thing unto her.

23 It was inquired into, and found out:
and they were both hanged on a gibbet.
And it was put in the histories, and
recorded in the chronicles before the king.

Chapter 3

1 After these things, king Assuerus
advanced Aman, the son of Amadathi,
who was of the race of Agag: and he set
his throne above all the princes that
were with him.

2 And all the king's servants, that were
at the doors of the palace, bent their
knees, and worshipped Aman: for so the
emperor had commanded them, only
Mardochai did not bend his knee, nor
worship him.

3 And the king's servants that were
chief at the doors of the palace, said to
him: Why dost thou alone not observe
the king's commandment?

4 And when they were saying this often,
and he would not hearken to them; they
told Aman, desirous to know whether he
would continue in his resolution: for he
had told them that he was a Jew.

5 Now when Aman had heard this, and
had proved by experience that Mardochai
did not bend his knee to him, nor
worship him, he was exceeding angry.

6 And he counted it nothing to lay his
hands upon Mardochai alone: for he had
heard that he was of the nation of the
Jews, and he chose rather to destroy all
the nation of the Jews that were in the
kingdom of Assuerus.

7 In the first month (which is called
Nisan) in the twelfth year a of the reign
of Assuerus, the lot was cast into an urn,
which in Hebrew is called Phur, before
Aman, on what day and what month the
nation of the Jews should be destroyed:
and there came out the twelfth month,
which is called Adar.

8 And Aman said to king Assuerus:
There is a people scattered through all
the provinces of thy kingdom, and
separated one from another, that use new
laws and ceremonies, and moreover
despise the king's ordinances: and thou
knowest very well that it is not expedient
for thy kingdom that they should
grow insolent by impunity.

9 If it please thee, decree that they may
he destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand
talents to thy treasurers.

10 And the king took the ring that he
used, from his own hand, and gave it to
Aman, the son of Amadathi of the race
of Agag, the enemy of the Jews,

11 And he said to him: As to the money
which thou promisest, keep it for thyself:
and as to the people, do with them
as seemeth good to thee.

12 And the king's scribes were called
in the first month Nisan, on the thirteenth
day of the same month: and they wrote,
as Aman had commanded, to all the king's
lieutenants, and to the judges of the
provinces, and of divers nations, as every
nation could read, and hear according to
their different languages, in the name of
king Assuerus: and the letters, sealed
with his ring,

13 Were sent by the king's messengers
to all provinces, to kill and destroy all
the Jews, both young and old, little
children, and women, in one day, that is,
on the thirteenth of the twelfth month,
which is called Adar, and to make a spoil
of their goods.

14 And the contents of the letters were
to this effect, that all provinces might
know and be ready against that day.

15 The couriers that were sent made
haste to fulfil the king's commandment.
And immediately the edict was hung up
in Susan, the king and Aman feasting
together, and all the Jews that were in
the city weeping.

Chapter 4

1 Now when Mardochai had heard these
things, he rent his garments, and
put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his
head: and he cried with a loud voice in
the street in the midst of the city,
shewing the anguish of his mind.

2 And he came lamenting in this
manner even to the gate of the palace: for
no one clothed with sackcloth might
enter the king's court.

3 And in all provinces, towns, and places,
to which the king's cruel edict was come,
there was great mourning among the
Jews, with fasting, wailing, and weeping,
many using sackcloth and ashes for their
bed.

4 Then Esther's maids and her eunuchs
went in, and told her. And when she
heard it she was in a consternation: and
she sent a garment, to clothe him, and
to take away the sackcloth: but he would
not receive it.

5 And she called for Athach the eunuch,
whom the king had appointed to attend
upon her, and she commanded him to go
to Mardochai, and learn of him why he
did this.

6 And Athach going out went to
Mardochai, who was standing in the street of
the city, before the palace gate:

7 And Mardochai told him all that had
happened, how Aman had promised to
pay money into the king's treasures, to
have the Jews destroyed.

8 He gave him also a copy of the edict
which was hanging up in Susan, that he
should shew it to the queen, and admonish
her to go in to the king, and to en-
treat him for her people.

9 And Athach went back and told Esther
all that Mardochai had said.

10 She answered him, and bade him say
to Mardochai:

11All the king's servants, and all the
provinces that are under his dominion,
know, that whosoever, whether man or
woman, cometh into the king's inner
court, who is not called for, is immediately
to be put to death without any
delay: except the king shall hold out the
golden sceptre to him, in token of clemency,
that so he may live. How then
can I go in to the king, who for these
thirty days now have not been called
unto him?

12 And when Mardochai had heard this,

13 He sent word to Esther again,
saying: Think not that thou mayst save thy
life only, because thou art in the king a
house, more than all the Jews:

14 For if thou wilt now hold thy peace,
the Jews shall be delivered by some
other occasion: and thou, and thy father's
house shall perish. And who knoweth
whether thou art not therefore come to
the kingdom, that thou mightest be ready
in such a time as this?

15 And again Esther sent to Mardochai
in these words:

16 Go, and gather together all the Jews
whom thou shalt find in Susan, and pray
ye for me. Neither eat nor drink for
three days and three nights: and I with
my handmaids will fast in like manner,
and then I will go in to the king, against
the law, not being called, and expose
myself to death and to danger.

17 So Mardochai went, and did all that
Esther had commanded him.

Chapter 5

1 And on the third day Esther put on
her royal apparel, and stood in the
inner court of the king's house, over
against the king's hall: now he sat upon
his throne in the hall of the palace, over
against the door of the house.

2 And when he saw Esther the queen
standing, she pleased his eyes, and he
held out toward her the golden sceptre,
which he held in his hand: and she drew
near, and kissed the top of his sceptre.

3 And the king said to her: What wilt
then, queen Esther? what is thy request?
if thou shouldst even ask one half of the
kingdom, it shall be given to thee.

4 But she answered: If it please the
king. I beseech thee to come to me this
day, and Aman with thee to the banquet
which I have prepared.

5 And the king said forthwith: Call ye
Aman quickly, that he may obey Esther's
will. So the king and Aman came to the
banquet which the queen had prepared
for them.

6 And the king said to her, after he had
drunk wine plentifully: What dost thou
desire should be given thee? and for
what thing askest thou? although thou
shouldst ask the half of my kingdom,
thou shalt have it.

7 And Esther answered: My petition
and request is this:

8 If I have found favour in the king's
sight, and if it please the king to give
me what I ask, and to fulfil my petition:
let the king and Aman come to the banquet
which I have prepared them, and to
morrow I will open my mind to the king.

9 So Aman went out that day joyful and
merry. And when he saw Mardochai
sitting before the gate of the palace, and
that he not only did not rise up to
honour him, but did not so much as move
from the place where he sat, he was
exceedingly angry:

10 But dissembling his anger, and
returning into his house, he called together
to him his friends, and Zares his wife:

11 And he declared to them the
greatness of his riches, and the multitude of
his children, and with how great glory
the king had advanced him above all his
princes and servants.

12 And after this he said: Queen Esther
also hath invited no other to the banquet
with the king, but me: and with her I
am also to dine to morrow with the king:

13 And whereas I have all these things,
I think I have nothing, so long as I see
Mardochai the Jew sitting before the
king's gate.

14 Then Zares his wife, and the rest of
his friends answered him: Order a great
beam to be prepared, fifty cubits high,
and in the morning speak to the king,
that Mardochai may be hanged upon it,
and so thou shalt go full of joy with the
king to the banquet. The counsel pleased
him, and he commanded a high gibbet
to be prepared.

Chapter 6

1 That night the king passed without
sleep, and he commanded the histories
and chronicles of former times to be
brought him. And when they were reading
them before him,

2 They came to that place where it was
written, how Mardochai had discovered
the treason of Bagathan and Thares the
eunuchs, who sought to kill king Assuerus.

3 And when the king heard this, he
said: What honour and reward hath
Mardochai received for this fidelity?
His servants and ministers said to him:
He hath received no reward at all.

4 And the king said immediately: Who
is in the court? for Aman was coming in
to the inner court of the king's house, to
speak to the king, that he might order
Mardochai to be hanged upon the gibbet
which was prepared for him.

5 The servants answered: Aman standeth
in the court, and the king said: Let
him come in.

6 And when he was come in, he said to
him: What ought to be done to the man
whom the king is desirous to honour?
But Aman thinking in his heart, and
supposing that the king would honour
no other but himself,

7 Answered: The man whom the king
desireth to honour,

8 Ought to be clothed with the king's
apparel, and to be set upon the horse that
the king rideth upon, and to have the
royal crown upon his head,

9 And let the first of the king's princes
and nobles hold his horse, and going
through the street of the city, proclaim
before him and say: Thus shall he be
honoured, whom the king hath a mind
to honour.

10 And the king said to him: Make
haste and take the robe and the horse,
and do as thou hast spoken to Mardochai
the Jew, who sitteth before the gates of
the palace. Beware thou pass over any
of those things which thou hast spoken.

11 So Aman took the robe and the
horse, and arraying Mardochai in the
street of the city, and setting him on the
horse, went before him, and proclaimed:
This honour is he worthy of, whom the
king hath a mind to honour.

12 But Mardochai returned to the palace
gate: and Aman made haste to go
to his house, mourning and having his
head covered:

13 And he told Zares his wife, and his
friends, all that had befallen him. And
the wise men whom he had in counsel,
and his wife answered him: If Mardochai
be of the seed of the Jews, before
whom thou hast begun to fall, thou canst
not resist him, but thou shalt fall in his
sight.

14 As they were yet speaking, the king's
eunuchs came, and compelled him to go
quickly to the banquet which the queen
had prepared.

Chapter 7

1 So the king and Aman went in, to
drink with the queen.

2 And the king said to her again the
second day, after he was warm with
wine: What is thy petition, Esther, that
it may be granted thee? and what wilt
thou have done: although thou ask the
half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it.

3 Then she answered: If I have found
Favour in thy sight, O king, and if it
please thee, give me my life for which I
ask, and my people for which I request.

4 For we are given up, I and my
people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to
perish. And would God we were sold
for bondmen and bondwomen: the evil
might be borne with, and I would have
mourned in silence: but now we have
an enemy, whose cruelty redoundeth
upon the king.

5 And king Assuerus answered and
said: Who is this, and of what power,
that he should do these things?

6 And Esther said: It is this Aman that
is our adversary and most wicked enemy.
Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished,
not being able to bear the countenance
of the king and of the queen.

7 But the king being angry rose up, and
went from the place of the banquet into
the garden set with trees. Aman also
rose up to entreat Esther the queen for
his life, for he understood that evil was
prepared for him by the king.

8 And when the king came back out of
the garden set with trees, and entered
into the place of the banquet, he found
Aman was fallen upon the bed on which
Esther lay, and he said: He will force
the queen also in my presence, in my
own house. The word was not yet gone
out of the king's mouth, and immediately
they covered his face.

9 And Harbona, one of the eunuchs that
stood waiting on the king, said: Behold
the gibbet which he hath prepared for
Mardochai, who spoke for the king,
standeth in Aman's house, being fifty
cubits high. And the king said to him:
Hang him upon it.

10 So Aman was hanged on the gibbet,
which he had prepared for Mardochai:
and the king's wrath ceased.

Chapter 8

1 On that day king Assuerus gave the
house of Aman, the Jews' enemy, to
queen Esther, and Mardochai came in
before the king. For Esther had
confessed to him that he was her uncle.

2 And the king took the ring which he
had commanded to be taken again from
Aman, and gave it to Mardochai. And
Esther set Mardochai over her house.

3 And not content with these things,
she fell down at the king's feet and wept,
and speaking to him besought him, that
he would give orders that the malice of
Aman the Agagite, and his most wicked
devices which he had invented against
the Jews, should be of no effect.

4 But he, as the manner was, held out
the golden sceptre with his hand, which
was the sign of clemency: and she arose
up and stood before him,

5 And said: If it please the king, and if
I have found favour in his sight, and my
request be not disagreeable to him, I
beseech thee, that the former letters of
Aman the traitor and enemy of the Jews,
by which he commanded that they should
be destroyed in all the king's provinces,
may be reversed by new letters.

6 For how call I endure the murdering
and slaughter of my people?

7 And king Assuerus answered Esther
the queen, and Mardochai the Jew: I
have given Aman's house to Esther, and
I have commanded him to be hanged on
a gibbet, because he durst lay hands on
the Jews.

8 Write ye therefore to the Jews, as it
pleaseth you, in the king's name, and
seal the letters with my ring. For this
was the custom, that no man durst gainsay
the letters which were sent in the
king's name, and were sealed with his
ring.

9 Then the king's scribes and secretaries
were called for (now it was the time of
the third month which is called Siban)
the three and twentieth day of the month,
and letters were written, as Mardochai
had a mind, to the Jews, and to the governors,
and to the deputies, and to the
judges, who were rulers over the
hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from
India even to Ethiopia: to province and
province, to people and people, according
to their languages and characters, and
to the Jews, according as they could read
and hear.

10 And these letters which were sent in
the king's name, were sealed with his
ring, and sent by posts: who were to run
through all the provinces, to prevent the
former letters with new messages.

11 And the king gave orders to them, to
speak to the Jews in every city, and to
command them to gather themselves
together, and to stand for their lives, and
to kill and destroy all their enemies with
their wives and children and all their
houses, and to take their spoil.

12 And one day of revenge was
appointed through all the provinces, to wit,
the thirteenth of the twelfth month
Adar.

13 And this was the content of the
letter, that it should be notified in all
lands and peoples that were subject to
the empire of king Assuerus, that the
Jews were ready to be revenged of their
enemies.

14 So the swift posts went out carrying
the messages, and the king's edict was
hung up in Susan.

15 And Mardochai going forth out of
the palace, and from the king's presence,
shone in royal apparel, to wit, of violet
and sky colour, wearing a golden crown
on his head, and clothed with a cloak of
silk and purple. And all the city
rejoiced and was glad.

16 But to the Jews a new light seemed
to rise, joy, honour, and dancing.

17 And in all peoples, cities, and provinces,
whithersoever the king's commandments
came, there was wonderful rejoicing,
feasts and banquets, and keeping
holy day: insomuch that many of other
nations and religion, joined themselves
to their worship and ceremonies. For a
great dread of the name of the Jews had
fallen upon all.

Chapter 9

1 So on the thirteenth day of the
twelfth month, which as we have
said above is called Adar, when all the
Jews were designed to be massacred, and
their enemies were greedy after their
blood, the case being altered, the Jews
began to have the upper hand, and to
revenge themselves of their adversaries.

2 And they gathered themselves
together in every city, and town, and place,
to lay their hands on their enemies, and
their persecutors. And no one durst
withstand them, for the fear of their
power had gone through every people.

3 And the judges of the provinces, and
the governors, and lieutenants, and every
one in dignity, that presided over every
place and work, extolled the Jews for
fear of Mardochai:

4 For they knew him to be prince of the
palace, and to have great power: and the
fame of his name increased daily, and was
spread abroad through all men's mouths.

5 So the Jews made a great slaughter
of their enemies, and killed them,
repaying according to what they had prepared
to do to them:

6 Insomuch that even in Susan they
killed five hundred men, besides the ten
sons of Aman the Agagite, the enemy of
the Jews: whose names are these:

7 Pharsandatha, and Delphon, and
Esphatha,

8 And Phoratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

9 And Phermesta, and Arisai, and Aridai,
and Jezatha.

10 And when they had slain them, they
would not touch the spoils of their
goods.

11 And presently the number of them
that were killed in Susan was brought to
the king.

12 And he said to the queen: The Jews
have killed five hundred men in the city
of Susan, besides the ten sons of Aman:
how many dost thou think they have
slain in all the provinces? What askest
thou more, and what wilt thou have me
to command to be done?

13 And she answered: If it please the
king, let it be granted to the Jews, to do
to morrow in Susan as they have done
to day, and that the ten sons of Aman
may be hanged upon gibbets.

14 And the king commanded that it
should be so done. And forthwith the
edict was hung up in Susan, and the ten
sons of Aman were hanged.

15And on the fourteenth day of the
month Adar the Jews gathered themselves
together, and they killed in Susan three
hundred men: but they took not their
substance.

16 Moreover through all the provinces
which were subject to the king's dominion
the Jews stood for their lives, and
slew their enemies and persecutors:
insomuch that the number of them that
were Billed amounted to seventy-five
thousand, and no man took any of their
goods.

17 Now the thirteenth day of the month
Adar was the first day with them all of
the slaughter, and on the fourteenth day
they left off. Which they ordained to be
kept holy day, so that all times hereafter
they should celebrate it with feasting,
joy, and banquets.

18 But they that were killing in the
city of Susan, were employed in the
slaughter on the thirteenth and fourteenth
day of the same month: and on
the fifteenth day they rested. And therefore
they appointed that day to be a
holy day of feasting and gladness.

19 But those Jews that dwelt in towns
not walled and in villages, appointed the
fourteenth day of the month Adar for
banquets and gladness, so as to rejoice
on that day, and send one another portions
of their banquets and meats.

20 And Mardochai wrote all these things,
and sent them comprised in letters to the
Jews that abode in all the king's provinces,
both those that lay near and those
afar off,

21That they should receive the
fourteenth and fifteenth day of the month
Adar for holy days, and always at the return
of the year should celebrate them
with solemn honour:

22 Because on those days the Jews revenged
themselves of their enemies, and
their mourning and sorrow were turned
into mirth and joy, and that these should
be days of feasting and gladness, in which
they should send one to another portions
of meats; and should give gifts to the
poor.

23 And the Jews undertook to observe
with solemnity all they had begun to do
at that time, which Mardochai by letters
had commanded to be done.

24 For Aman, the son of Amadathi of
the race of Agag, the enemy and adversary
of the Jews, had devised evil against
them, to kill them and destroy them:
and had cast Phur, that is, the lot.

25 And afterwards Esther went in to the
king, beseeching him that his endeavours
might be made void by the king's letters:
and the evil that he had intended against
the Jews, might return upon his own
head. And so both he and his sons were
hanged upon gibbets.

26 And since that time these days are
called Phurim, that is, of lots: because
Phur, that is, the lot, was cast into the
urn. And all things that were done, are
contained in the volume of this epistle,
that is, of this book:

27 And the things that they suffered,
and that were afterwards changed, the
Jews took upon themselves and their
seed, and upon all that had a mind to be
joined to their religion, so that it should
be lawful for none to pass these days
without solemnity: which the writing
testifieth, and certain times require, as
the years continually succeed one another.

28 These are the days which shall never
be forgot: and which all provinces in the
whole world shall celebrate throughout
all generations: neither is there any city
wherein the days of Phurim, that is, of
lots, must not be observed by the Jews,
and by their posterity, which is bound to
these ceremonies.

29 And Esther the queen, the daughter
of Abihail, and Mardochai the Jew, wrote
also a second epistle, that with all diligence
this day should be established a
festival for the time to come.

30 And they sent to all the Jews that
were in the hundred and twenty-seven
provinces of king Assuerus, that they
should have peace, and receive truth,

31 And observe the days of lots, and
celebrate them with joy in their proper
time: as Mardochai and Esther had
appointed, and they undertook them to be
observed by themselves and by their
seed, fasts, and cries, and the days of
lots,

32 And all things which are contained
in the history of this book, which is called
Esther.

Chapter 10

1 And king Assuerus made all the land,
and all the islands of the sea tributary.

2 And his strength and his empire, and
the dignity and greatness wherewith he
exalted Mardochai, are written in the
books of the Medes, and of the Persians:

3 And how Mardochai of the race of the
Jews, was next after king Assuerus: and
great among the Jews, and acceptable to
the people of his brethren, seeking the
good of his people, and speaking those
things which were for the welfare of his
seed.

4 Then Mardochai said: God hath done
these things.

5 I remember a dream that I saw, which
signified these same things: and nothing
thereof hath failed.

6 The little fountain which grew into a
river, and was turned into a light, and
into the sun, and abounded into many
waters, is Esther, whom the king married,
and made queen.

7 But the two dragons are I and Aman.

8 The nations that were assembled are
they that endeavoured to destroy the
name of the Jews.

9 And my nation is Israel, who cried to
the Lord, and the Lord saved his people:
and he delivered us from all evils, and
hath wrought great signs and wonders
among the nations:

10 And he commanded that there should
be two lots, one of the people of God, and
the other of all the nations.

11 And both lots came to the day
appointed already from that time before
God to all nations:

12 And the Lord remembered his people,
and had mercy on his inheritance.

13 And these days shall be observed in
the month of Adar on the fourteenth,
and fifteenth day of the same month.
with all diligence, and joy of the people
gathered into one assembly, throughout
all the generations hereafter of the people
of Israel.

Chapter 11

1 In the fourth year of the reign of
Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus,
who said he was a priest, and of the
Levitical race, and Ptolemy his son brought
this epistle of Phurim, which they said
Lysimachus the son of Ptolemy had
interpreted in Jerusalem.

2 In the second year of the reign of
Artaxerxes the great, in the first day of the
month Nisan, Mardochai the son of Jair,
the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of the
tribe of Benjamin:

3 A Jew who dwelt in the city of Susan,
a great man and among the first of the
king's court, had it dream.

4 Now he was of the number of the
captives, whom Nabuchodonosor king of
Babylon had carried away from Jerusalem
with Jechonias king of Juda:

5 And this was his dream: Behold there
were voices, and tumults, and thunders,
and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon
the earth.

6 And behold two great dragons came
forth ready to fight one against another.

7 And at their cry all nations were
stirred up to fight against the nation of
the just.

8 And that was a day of darkness and
danger, of tribulation and distress, and
great fear upon the earth.

9 And the nation of the just was troubled
fearing their own evils, and was prepared
for death.

10 And they cried to God: and as they
were crying, a little fountain grew into a
very great river, and abounded into many
waters.

11 The light and the sun rose up, and
the humble were exalted, and they
devoured the glorious.

12 And when Mardochai had seen this,
and arose out of his bed, he was thinking
what God would do: and he kept it fixed
in his mind, desirous to know what the
dream should signify.

Chapter 12

1 And he abode at that time in the
king's court with Bagatha and Thara
the king's eunuchs, who were porters of
the palace.

2 And when he understood their designs,
and had diligently searched into their
projects, he learned that they went about to
lay violent hands on king Artaxerxes, and
he told the king thereof.

3 Then the king had them both examined,
and after they had confessed,
commanded them to be put to death.

4 But the king made a record of what
was done: and Mardochai also committed
the memory of the thing to writing.

5 And the king commanded him, to abide
in the court of the palace, and gave him
presents for the information.

6 But Aman the son of Amadathi the
Bugite was in great honour with the king,
and sought to hurt Mardochai and his
people, because of the two eunuchs of
the king who were put to death.

Chapter 13

1 And this was the copy of the letter:
Artaxerxes the great king who
reigneth from India to Ethiopia, to the
princes and governors of the hundred
and twenty-seven provinces, that are
subject to his empire, greeting.

2 Whereas I reigned over many nations,
and had brought all the world under my
dominion, I was not willing to abuse the
greatness of my power, but to govern
my subjects with clemency and lenity,
that they might live quietly without any
terror. and might enjoy peace, which is
desired by all men.

3 But when I asked my counsellors how
this might be accomplished, one that
excelled the rest in wisdom and fidelity,
and was second after the king, Aman by
name,

4 Told me that there was a people
scattered through the whole world, which
used new laws, and acted against the
customs of all nations, despised the
commandments of kings, and violated by
their opposition the concord of all
nations.

5 Wherefore having learned this, and
seeing one nation in opposition to all
mankind using perverse laws, and going
against our commandments, and disturbing
the peace and concord of the
provinces subject to us,

6 We have commanded that all whom
Aman shall mark out, who is chief over
all the provinces, and second after the
king, and whom we honour as a father,
shall be utterly destroyed by their
enemies, with their wives and children, and
that none shall have pity on them. on
the fourteenth day of the twelfth month
Adar of this present year:

7 That these wicked men going down to
hell in one day, may restore to our
empire the peace which they had disturbed.

8 But Mardochai besought the Lord,
remembering all his works,

9 And said: O Lord, Lord, almighty king,
for all things are in thy power, and there
is none that can resist thy will, if thou
determine to save Israel.

10 Thou hast made heaven and earth,
and all things that are under the cope of
heaven.

11 Thou art Lord of all, and there is
none that can resist thy majesty.

12 Thou knowest all things, and thou
knowest that it was not out of pride and
contempt, or any desire of glory, that I
refused to worship the proud Aman,

13 (For I would willingly and readily for
the salvation of Israel have kissed even
the steps of his feet,)

14 But I feared lest I should transfer
the honour of my God to a man, and lest
I should adore any one except my God.

16 Despise not thy portion, which thou
hast redeemed for thyself out of Egypt.

17 Hear my supplication, and be
merciful to thy lot and inheritance, and turn
our mourning into joy, that we may live
and praise thy name, 0 Lord, and shut
not the mouths of them that sing to thee.

18 And all Israel with like mind and
supplication cried to the Lord, because
they saw certain death hanging over
their heads.

Chapter 14

1 Queen Esther also, fearing the danger
that was at hand, had recourse to
the Lord.

2 And when she had laid away her royal
apparel, she put on garments suitable for
weeping and mourning: instead of divers
precious ointments, she covered her head
with ashes and dung, and she humbled
her body with fasts: and all the places
in which before she was accustomed to
rejoice, she filled with her torn hair.

3 And she prayed to the Lord the God
of Israel, saying: O my Lord, who alone
art our king, help me a desolate woman,
and who have no other helper but thee.

4 My danger is in my hands.

5 I have heard of my father that thou,
O Lord, didst take Israel from among all
nations, and our fathers from all their
predecessors, to possess them as an
everlasting inheritance, and thou hast done
to them as thou hast promised.

6 We have sinned in thy sight, and
therefore thou hast delivered us into the
hands of our enemies:

7 For we have worshipped their gods.
Thou art just, O Lord.

8 And now they are not content to
oppress us with most hard bondage, but
attributing the strength of their hands to
the power of their idols,

9 They design to change thy promises,
and destroy thy inheritance, and shut
the mouths of them that praise thee, and
extinguish the glory of thy temple and
altar,

10 That they may open the mouths of
Gentiles, and praise the strength of idols,
and magnify for ever a carnal king.

11 Give not, O Lord, thy sceptre to them
that are not, lest they laugh at our ruin:
but turn their counsel upon themselves,
and destroy him that hath begun to rage
against us.

12 Remember, O Lord, and shew thyself
to us in the time of our tribulation, and
give me boldness, O Lord, king of gods,
and of all power:

13 Give me a well ordered speech in my
mouth in the presence of the lion, and
turn his heart to the hatred of our enemy,
that both he himself may perish, and the
rest that consent to him.

14 But deliver us by thy hand, and help
me, who have no other helper, but thee,
O Lord, who hast the knowledge of all
things.

15 And thou knowest that I hate the
glory of the wicked, and abhor the bed
of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger.

16 Thou knowest my necessity, that I
abominate the sign of my pride and
glory, which is upon my head in the days
of my public appearance, and detest it
as a menstruous rag, and wear it not in
the days of my silence,

17 And that I have not eaten at Aman's
table, nor hath the king's banquet pleased
me, and that I have not drunk the wine
of the drink offerings:

18 And that thy handmaid hath never
rejoiced, since I was brought hither unto
this day, but in thee, O Lord, the God of
Abraham.

19 O God, who art mighty above all,
hear the voice of them, that have no
other hope, and deliver us from the hand
of the wicked, and deliver me from my
fear.

Chapter 15

1 And he commanded her (no doubt but
he was Mardochai) to go to the
king, and petition for her people, and for
her country.

2 Remember, (said he,) the days of thy
low estate, how thou wast brought up by
my hand, because Aman the second after
the king hath spoken against us unto
death.

3 And do thou call upon the Lord, and
speak to the king for us, and deliver us
from death.

4 And on the third day she laid away
the garments she wore, and put on her
glorious apparel.

5 And glittering in royal robes, after
she had called upon God the ruler and
Saviour of all, she took two maids with
her,

6 And upon one of them she leaned, as
if for delicateness and overmuch tenderness
she were not able to bear up her own
body.

7 And the other maid followed her
lady, bearing up her train flowing on the
ground.

8 But she with a rosy colour in her face,
and with gracious and bright eyes, hid a
mind full of anguish, and exceeding great
fear.

9 So going in she passed through all the
doors in order, and stood before the king,
where he sat upon his royal throne,
clothed with his royal robes, and glittering
with gold, and precious stones, and
he was terrible to behold.

10 And when he had lifted up his countenance,
and with burning eyes had
shewn the wrath of his heart, the queen
sunk down, and her colour turned pale,
and she rested her weary head upon her
handmaid.

11 And God changed the king's spirit
into mildness, and all in haste and in
fear he leaped from his throne, and holding
her up in his arms, till she came to
herself, caressed her with these words:

12 What is the matter, Esther? I am
thy brother, fear not.

13 Thou shalt not die: for this law is
not made for thee, but for all others.

14 Come near then, and touch the sceptre.

15 And as she held her peace, he took
the golden sceptre, and laid it upon her
neck, and kissed her, and said: Why
dost thou not speak to me?

16 She answered: I saw thee, my lord,
as an angel of God, and my heart was
troubled for fear of thy majesty.

17 For thou, my lord, art very admirable,
and thy. face is full of graces.

18 And while she was speaking, she
fell down again, and was almost in a
swoon.

19 But the king was troubled, and all
his servants comforted her.

Chapter 16

1 The great king Artaxerxes, from
India to Ethiopia, to the governors
and princes of a hundred and twenty-
seven provinces, which obey our command,
sendeth greeting.

2 Many have abused unto pride the
goodness of princes, and the honour that
hath been bestowed upon them:

3 And not only endeavour to oppress
the king's subjects, but not bearing the
glory that is given them, take in hand
to practise also against them that gave it.

4 Neither are they content not to re-
turn thanks for benefits received, and to
violate in themselves the laws of humanity,
but they think they can also escape
the justice of God who seeth all things.

5 And they break out into so great
madness, as to endeavour to undermine
by lies such as observe diligently the
offices committed to them, and do all
things in such manner as to be worthy
of all men's praise,

6 While with crafty fraud they deceive
the ears of princes that are well meaning,
and judge of others by their own nature.

7 Now this is proved both from ancient
histories, and by the things which are
done daily, how the good designs of kings
are depraved by the evil suggestions of
certain men.

8 Wherefore we must provide for the
peace of all provinces.

9 Neither must you think, if we
command different things, that it cometh of
the levity of our mind, but that we give
sentence according to the quality and
necessity of times, as the profit of the
commonwealth requireth.

10 Now that you may more plainly
understand what we say, I Aman the son of
Amadathi, a Macedonian both in mind
and country, and having nothing of the
Persian blood, but with his cruelty
staining our goodness, was received being a
stranger by us:

11 And found our humanity so great
towards him, that he was called our father,
and was worshipped by all as the next
man after the king:

12 But he was so far puffed up with
arrogancy, as to go about to deprive us
of our kingdom and life.

13 For with certain new and unheard of
devices he hath sought the destruction of
Mardochai, by whose fidelity and good
services our life was saved, and of
Esther the partner of our kingdom, with all
their nation:

14 Thinking that after they were slain,
he might work treason against us left
alone without friends, and might transfer
the kingdom of the Persians to the
Macedonians.

15 But we have found that the Jews,
who were by that most wicked man
appointed to be slain, are in no fault at all,
but contrariwise, use just laws,

16 And are the children of the highest
and the greatest, and the ever living God,
by whose benefit the kingdom was given
both to our fathers and to us, and is kept
unto this day.

17 Wherefore know ye that those letters
which he sent in our name, are void and
of no effect.

18 For which crime both he himself
that devised it, and all his kindred hang
on gibbets, before the gates of this city
Susan: not we, but God repaying him as
he deserved.

19 But this edict, which we now send,
shall be published in all cities, that the
Jews may freely follow their own laws.

20 And you shall aid them that they
may kill those who had prepared
themselves to kill them, on the thirteenth day
of the twelfth month, which is called
Adar.

21 For the almighty God hath turned
this day of sadness and mourning into
joy to them.

22 Wherefore you shall also count this
day among other festival days, and
celebrate it with all joy, that it may be known
also in times to come,

23 That all they who faithfully obey the
Persians, receive a worthy reward for
their fidelity : but they that are traitors
to their kingdom, are destroyed for their
wickedness.

24 And let every province and city, that
will not be partaker of this solemnity,
perish by the sword and by fire, and be
destroyed in such manner as to be made
unpassable, both to men and beasts, for
an example of contempt, and disobedience.